Aberdeen

• All 12 Premiership sides provided a total of 15,101 minutes to Scottish players aged under 21 in the 2023-24 season.

• Those minutes average out to just 1,258 per club, which is the equivalent of only 14 full 90-minute matches.

• Six teams failed to reach a total above 700 minutes.

• Celtic and Rangers were the worst offenders in the division, with Celtic managing just 89 minutes all in, while Rangers' total was even lower at only 26.

Manager Jimmy Thelin hopes starring for Aberdeen can propel new signing Topi Keskinen into Finland's senior squad. (Press & Journal)

Read the rest of Thursday's gossip.

Aberdeen’s quarter-final against The Spartans will take place on Saturday, 21 September at 17:30 BST.

The game will be shown live on Premier Sports.

The Dons beat Queen's Park 1-0 to reach the last eight while fourth-tier Spartans stunned Ross County 1-0.

A lack of first-team action given to youngsters in the Premiership backs up the Scottish FA's assertion that Scotland is not bringing through enough emerging talent.

Just three of the 12 top-flight teams are able to say they provided over 2,000 minutes to Scots aged under 21 across last season's pre-split fixtures.

Dundee sit top of the 2023-24 table with 3,538, but a large chunk of that was clocked up by the one player - Lyall Cameron.

The same applies to the three next best clubs on the chart, Aberdeen (Connor Barron), Kilmarnock (David Watson) and Motherwell (Lennon Miller).

At the bottom of the table are both Old Firm clubs, with the pair posting concerning figures - Celtic just 89 minutes and Rangers only 26.

The report uses Hungary's top flight - a 12-team league - as a direct comparison. It shows Honved provided 6,544 minutes to Hungarian under-21 players, PAFC reached more than 5,000 and two more clubs achieved over 3,000.

Click here to read more on how Scottish football is failing young players.

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Clubs in Scotland are failing to bring through enough young players, a report, external by the Scottish FA has said.

The governing body says Scottish football is "significantly underachieving its potential" in youth development compared to countries of a similar size.

Using a range of data to compare leagues across Europe, it shows players under the age of 21 in Scotland are playing fewer minutes in the top-flight than countries such as Denmark, Norway, and Croatia.

Meanwhile, game time for young Scottish players in major European club competitions ranks below countries with smaller populations and fewer resources, such as Montenegro and North Macedonia.

It also stresses clubs are missing an opportunity to reduce wage costs and increase transfer revenue by developing their own players.

The report was commissioned by the SFA's professional game board at the end of 2023, and a working party comprised of SPFL and SFA representatives will now consider its findings.

Read the full story

Liam McLeod
BBC Sport Scotland Commentator

It's been another productive week for Aberdeen as they made it through to the quarter-finals of the League Cup - and despite leaving it late, cup ties are all about being in the hat for the next round.

The win over Queen’s Park, courtesy of debutant Topi Keskinen’s superb goal, which owed much to a terrific assist from Sivert Heltne Nilsen, saw them win 1-0 against their Championship visitors who were left to rue missing two huge chances.

It was the first game in the post-Bojan Miovski era and his apparent successor Ester Sokler was unlucky to be denied a goal that would have done wonders for his confidence by the most dubious of offside calls.

The last-eight draw was kind to the Dons with a visit from fourth-tier Spartans to come for a place in the semi-finals and, despite the League 2 side’s heroics against Ross County, the hosts will be big favourites to give new manager Jimmy Thelin a quickfire taste of Hampden in the autumn.

Saturday’s victory was a seventh on the bounce for Thelin and he will hope to make it eight when Kilmarnock visit Pittodrie on Sunday off the back for their Conference League play-off first leg in Copenhagen.

Killie had tentatively explored the possibility of seeking a postponement and then flying straight to Aberdeen from Denmark, but neither came to fruition and they will make their way to Prestwick after the match.

There's little doubt that will hand the Dons an advantage, something the Ayrshire team enjoyed last season when Barry Robson's side produced an insipid performance at Rugby Park just over 60 hours after a late, morale-sapping 3-2 Conference League defeat to PAOK.

With a trip to Ross County to follow before the international break, Thelin has the chance to produce Aberdeen’s best winning start to a league season since 2015.

And it shouldn’t go unnoticed that the team as a whole has only suffered a penalty shootout defeat to Celtic in a Scottish Cup semi-final in their last 17 games across all competitions going back into last season.

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Ex-Hibernian striker Kevin Nisbet would be a good fit to replace Bojan Miovski at Pittodrie, says former Aberdeen forward Lee Miller.

The 27-year-old has struggled to make an impact at English Championship side Millwall since departing Easter Road in June last year.

And following Miovski's big-money move to Girona, reports have suggested Aberdeen are interested in bringing Nisbet back to Scotland.

Miller, who played more than 140 games for the Dons between 2006 and 2010, says he would be surprised to see the former Hibs man return north so soon but feels he needs regular game time.

Speaking on the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast, Miller said: "He's 27, he should be in his prime. He needs to play games because he's a very, very good player. On the top of his game he can be really effective and Aberdeen could be a good fit.

"But I would be surprised if he came back up to the Scottish game because when you go down south, you kind of jump about in the merry-go-round.

"Although, I don't know his personal situation. He could be missing home, missing his friends, missing his family.

"But he's not featured as much as he probably thought he would down there. Sometimes you don't realise how hustle and bustle it is. You're playing Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday. It's a real long slog."

Former striker Lee Miller, who turned out for Dundee United, Aberdeen and Kilmarnock among others, recounts his experiences of being on the move on transfer deadline day during his playing career.

Listen and subscribe to the Scottish football podcast on BBC Sounds

Aberdeen defender Gavin Molloy wants to help his side make Pittodrie a fortress. (Press and Journal - subscription), external

Read Wednesday's Scottish gossip

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It's not often a win over lower-league opposition holds such significance for a club like Aberdeen, but Saturday's late victory over Queen's Park was a record-breaking result for the man in the home dugout at Pittodrie.

Having guided the Dons to seven wins from seven games at the start of his tenure, Jimmy Thelin has now made the best start of any manager in the club's history.

Granted, five of those victories have come against lower-league teams in the League Cup - including Saturday's and the four previous group games - but there is no sign of the Pittodrie feelgood factor fizzling out.

Back-to-back Premiership triumphs over St Johnstone and St Mirren have caught the eye - only the Dons and Celtic have 100% win rates in the top flight after two games.

Thelin has received praise for some of the intense, direct and aggressive football Aberdeen have played during the infancy of his tenue, but the team have also shown the ability to grind out wins and bounce back from conceding.

With a home encounter against Kilmarnock to come on Sunday, the Dons can take their points tally from six to nine with another victory.

And a League Cup quarter-final with fourth-tier Spartans presents a fantastic opportunity for Thelin to guide his team to Hampden at the first attempt.

Following Saturday's last-16 success, Dons midfielder Sivert Heltne Nilsen highlighted the positive energy at Pittodrie and stressed the importance of building on it.

"The feeling in the stadium was very good," he said. "It’s really important that the fans and the whole city feel are with us now.

"Hopefully we can keep that momentum to grow and get a little bit better and use it as motivation for taking small steps all the time."

Scotland striker Kevin Nisbet is wanted by Aberdeen, who want to see if a potential loan deal can be agreed with the 27-year-old having fallen down the pecking order with Millwall. (Daily Record), external

Read Tuesday's Scottish Gossip in full here.

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Ryan Duncan has left Aberdeen to join Championship side Queen's Park on a season-long loan.

The 20-year-old winger made three appearances off the bench in the League Cup group stage earlier this season under new manager Jimmy Thelin.

Since earning a first-team debut as a substitute at Rangers in November 2020, Duncan has gone on to make 16 starts and 37 appearances off the bench for the Dons, scoring twice.

The youngster signed a new contract at Aberdeen in 2023, which keeps him at the club until at least the summer of 2026.

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Aberdeen will welcome League 2 side The Spartans to Pittodrie next month for their Premier Sports Cup quarter-final tie.

Jimmy Thelin's side narrowly beat Queen' Park 1-0 on Saturday, while Dougie Samuel's fourth-tier side beat Ross County by the same margin at the same time.

The tie will take place on the weekend of 21-22 September.

Check out the draw in full here.

We asked you for your thoughts after Aberdeen sneaked by Queen's Park to progress into the League Cup quarter-finals.

Here's what you had to say:

Bruce: Queens Park did well and should have scored. Credit to Jimmy for taking time to see what players can do, but at least two of the starting 11 shouldn’t have been there. We need an end product.

Sokler doesn’t have that 'spidey sense' of right place, right time so I suspect we’ll be looking for another wide player and striker.

Stuart: Maybe just a wake-up call that you can’t assume these type of games are going to be smooth sailing, however it’s another win so onwards and upwards.

Stew: Awful game. Aberdeen were lucky not to be 0-2 down at half-time, as they were slow and not slick enough in the build-up. Need to speed up play. Everything goes through Sivert Heltne Nilsen and he can't run. When they play better teams the will get picked off.

Marti: Not getting carried away, but Jimmy has got the lads playing. The passing at times is sublime. Not expecting miracles this season but it's looking good with cracking signings too.

Allan: It’s all about getting into the next round in cup football. We dominated the game but need to be more clinical in the penalty box, but remember it is a work in progress. Another different goal scorer so that’s good. The sooner Angus is back playing the tighter the defence will be, and our keeper looks very assured.

David: Not an amazing performance today, but a win is a win. Good to see us fighting to the end. Topi looks like he will be a great asset for us and what a way to introduce himself to the crowd.

Fred: An exciting game and great to see our winning run continue. The new signings are performing well but I still think we need a proven striker as we may still struggle against the higher quality opposition that will soon present themselves. We now have the funds, lets buy a proven striker to lead the attack.

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Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin told BBC Scotland: "We needed some luck to go through. Their goalkeeper made good saves, you have to respect that and their fight and their belief.

"The fans stayed with us after first half and pushed us to the winning goal. Sometimes you need that extra push when the opponent defends well."

On his 100% record so far, he added: "It's not been smooth! You have to find a way to win games. We still have things to improve.

"We need to keep trying and grow and be better all the time and have strong determination to manage the league and Cup games. So far so good."

New signing Topi Keskinen came off the bench to score a late winner on his debut as Aberdeen squeezed Queen’s Park in the Premier Sports Cup last 16.

The game looked certain to head to extra time until Finnish winger Keskinen, a midweek arrival from HJK Helsinki, turned brilliantly in the box to rifle home a 92nd-minute strike.

The Dons have now won every game this season under new boss Jimmy Thelin, making it seven out of seven with the victory over their Championship opposition.

What did you make of the game, Aberdeen fans? Was that a deserved victory? Did you think it was going to extra time?

Let us know your thoughts here., external

Andrew Petrie
BBC Sport Scotland

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Despite the strength of Aberdeen's squad compared to Queen's Park, the Dons missed Bojan Miovski up front - a player who would have finished the umpteen chances that Aberdeen created.

They need a new talisman, and auditions are still ongoing.

MacKenzie at left-back might be an unlikely candidate. He bombed up and down the left and was a real goal-scoring threat.

Jamie McGrath is another contender, as is Sivert Heltne Nilssen - a tough-tackling midfielder who keeps things nice and simple in the middle of the park.

However, it was Keskinen who really announced himself. A lot of money has been spent on the 21-year-old and expectations are high as a result. A game-winning goal on debut goes some way to recouping the money spent.

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Jack MacKenzie. The improvement in the academy graduate is incredible and he has become a solid Premiership left-back, showing potential to go even further.

Strong and imposing, his athleticism saw him get in behind the Queen's Park defence time and again.

He perhaps could have scored today, but getting that high up the pitch is still relatively new in his game and he should become more composed in time.

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Aberdeen: Mitov, Devlin, Milne, Molloy, MacKenzie, Morris, Heltne Nilsen, Shinnie, McGrath, Sokler, Gueye.

Substitutes: Doohan, Jensen, McGarry, Besuijen, Palaversa, MacDonald, Ambrose, Bavidge, Keskinen.

Queen's Park: Ferrie, Kerr, Murray, Ujdur, Scott, Welsh, Turner, Thomson, Thomas, Rudden, Longridge.

Substitutes: Wills, MacGregor, McLeish, Hinds, Connolly, McDonnell, MacKenzie, McGinlay, Fieldson.

Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin has confirmed that former caretaker Peter Leven will remain on the Pittodrie coaching staff despite an approach from Raith Rovers, who are seeking a new head coach. (Scott Burns on X), external

Read Saturday's Scottish Gossip in full here.

Clive Lindsay
BBC Sport Scotland

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You could bill Saturday's visit by Queen's Park in the Premier Sports Cup last 16 as the start of Aberdeen's life without Bojan Miovski.

But, in truth, the Dons had all but wrapped the North Macedonia striker in cotton wool pending Thursday's sale to Girona.

The Dons have still managed six straight victories in an impressive start to Jimmy Thelin's tenure as manager.

Latest signing Topi Keskinen, the winger who arrived this week from HJK Helsinki, will hope to compensate for the exiting firepower on his possible debut along with former Troyes midfielder Ante Palaversa.

Queen's Park banged in 15 goals of their own winning three group-stage games, but their one meeting this season with Premiership opposition ended with a 5-1 thumping away to Hibernian and they have not won in two Championship outings since.

It would be a major shock if Callum Davidson's side can repeat the last meeting between the sides, when the Spiders won on penalties after a 0-0 draw, also in the League Cup, way back in 2006 at Firhill.

Read the Premier Sports Cup preview in full here.

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Jimmy Thelin insists Aberdeen will not be racing to spend the money from the sale of Bojan Miovski.

The striker joined Girona for a club record fee, reported to be up to £6.5m but the Dons are not in a hurry to get in a replacement.

"The people here at Aberdeen, it's an amazing job they have done," Thelin said of the transfer.

"Like we have done before, the recruitment process is always going on behind closed doors but we also want to give the players that are already here the chance to prove themselves and grow.

"Sometimes when someone is leaving someone else steps forward. If we need to, maybe something will happen but we also want to put trust in the players that are here.

"It's more like a longer term plan, we don't want to rush into something. Every game we have played so far we've had different goalscorers. We're trying to build something so we're not relying on one player and can score team goals.

"The window is still open and if we need to do something we will do something but our focus is on the players that are already here."

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Aberdeen boss Jimmy Thelin has been speaking to the media as his side prepare to face Queen's Park in the Premier Sports Cup on Saturday.

Here are the main points from the press conference:

• On Bojan Miovski's exit in a club record sale, Thelin says the Dons have done an "amazing job" and it was a "good ending" for the striker.

• He won't rush into anything with the Miovski cash, he trusts the players he has and will focus long term on using the transfer funds.

• He adds that the recruitment process is always ongoing and the window is still open, but his focus right now is on players in the building.

• On the arrival of Topi Keskinen, the boss says the Finnish winger really wanted to come to Aberdeen and is hungry to grow with the club.

• Thelin isn't underestimating the challenge of Queen's Park, who are "a good team", and stresses the importance of the game.

• When asked about guiding the Dons to Hampden, Thelin says "to dream is free" but they need to take it day by day to achieve something.

• Angus MacDonald has trained this week and is ready for a place in the squad.